Topics - Armor Gnome

Before reading the following with hopes of applying this to your system please understand the following:

I have little experience with X I have tested this on my system only I have tested this on one card only I can not help you fix your machine if something goes wrong

In this quick guide I will be demonstrating how I am able to use both DVI outputs on my hybrid core and with many obvious limitations effectively use my core as a media director in two separate rooms.

This guide is written for confident users who along with their backup methods are interested in getting the most out of their LMCE experience. I will be using graphical interfaces as that is where I am most comfortable. Users above the limitations of graphical interfaces who are more comfortable with editing .conf files directly may still gain from the basics presented and hopefully expand upon this and get this hardware functioning at levels miles beyond current settings.

My setup:

My hybrid core is mounted in a wall that separates my office from my living room. In the office I use an Acer 23" monitor with desktop speakers. In the living room sits my 60" LG Plasma and Sony Surround Sound Receiver. DVI goes to the TV via DVI-to-HDMI cable, DVI-2 goes to the monitor with a standard DVI-to-DVI. The audio setup and AV equipment control would be a completely separate guide so I am going to stick with video settings. I use a XFX GeForce 7600 GT PCIe card.

By separate media director I mean that without any wiring changes or commands of any kind I can access my display in the living room or office, or both at the same time. Typically I am in the office accessing the display from the hybrid core but at all times that display is also being sent to the living room. If I am watching a movie in the office I can tune to HDMI input in the living room and watch the same thing there. Because orbiters interact with the media director as one controllable device, I can also be sitting in the living room with an orbiter and access this media director as if it was local while the monitor in the office is turned off (or using a kvm switch, working with my non-LMCE PC). Along with these limitations I effectively have 2 Media Directors and a CORE for the price of one.

Configuration:

During initial installation my TV was not connected to simplify things. The LMCE 10.04 install DVD detected my card and provided me with NVIDIA Driver Version 260.19.29 with output to DVI-2. I selected DVI-2/HDMI @ 1920x1080 during the AV Wizard. No additional changes were made and no software outside of what LMCE provided me at install was used. I performed a full apt-get update/upgrade using the methods described in my guide to slow internet connection updating prior to performing this change. I see no reason why this setting could not be applied to any media director with this card so I am going to refer to the physical device as 'machine' in this guide to keep things clear.

To match your card and driver to mine, execute the following in a terminal.

Backup your physical system - I recommend Clonezilla but use whichever you are comfortable withWhile powered off, connect the TV via DVI-to-HDMI cable to the DVI port of the video cardPower on Enter KDE DesktopLaunch Manager>Applications>Settings>Nvidia X server Settings (this was installed automagicly, thanks devs!)Select "X Server Display Configuration"Two monitors should appear on the rightSelect the Disabled display - tv or secondary monitor should be named here alreadyUse the [Configure...] button to open a radio button selection windowClick TwinView and then press [Ok]#seperate x screens is an available option but I do not believe this would be supported currently, to drive separate displays LMCE would need 2 on-screen orbiters, 2 Xine players and basically 2 full MDs.Click [Advanced...]Change Position: to [Absolute ] +0+0 - more on this below(#) Click [Save to X Configuration File]Click [Show preview...] leaving the merge option selectedScroll to near the bottom of that window and locate the entry:

#this tells x to not begin placement of the second display after the end of the primary display butrather to draw absolute beginning at +0+0 (twin display to each monitor with capped res width of 1920).Ignoring this step will draw a 3840x1080 desktop on a 1920x1080 screen. This is cool for desktop work butnot as valuable on your tv display. Locking the resolution to the screen is smoother.

Select all text in the window and copy (Ctrl+c)Open a terminal session

Quote

sudo kwrite /etc/X11/xorg.conf

#Be warned you know have write permission to a very sensitive file. Do not proceed if you have any doubts about your ability to recover from an oops!

Replace the contents of /etc/X11/xorg.conf with the contents of your clipboard - select all, delete, Ctrl+VSave changesExit KwriteCtrl+C to stop sudo session in terminalExit terminalReboot - a reload router is not enough to reload X, you will need a reboot

Test and hopefully enjoy - see note below (#)

Report problems to me, please don't distract the devs from the important work they are doing.Backup your machine with a unique name such as "psuedo-free-MD-img" this allows you to restore to before using the first backup point or continue with these settings.#Reopening NVIDIA X server Settings should now only show 1 display graphically, the twin view information is contained below the picture in the details that instruct it to mirror the display to both outputs.

*Edit1 - with all the [ ] needed to represent a clickable button I am amazed at how few times I messed up my formatting. =)*Edit2 - rephrased and reworded some areas for clarity

**I have acquired a replacement dongle. If you still want to contact me about other devices I will respond**

Sorry but first off no offers on Windows MCE Remotes please, they are horribly ugly.

I looked over http://lmcecompatible.com/ but didn't notice anything. Contact me if I overlooked something in your inventory please.

1. Looking for a Fiire Remote first. Daily eBay checks have taught me there are not a lot of these changing hands anymore but I can stay hopeful.

2. Looking for a replacement USB dongle for my Gyration 3101US. If the price is right I will consider trying another gyration RF receiver dongle that is 2.4Ghz.

3. After reviewing the wiki and forums I could not find a feature and appearance equivalent motion remote, impress me with your recommendations... a. Top $ for OOB support in 10.04 and attractive design b. Less $ offered for something I need to spend time writing support for

Additional:

Interested in suggestions, half developed devices I can pick up on and finish, and any smk-link products (such as the cell-phone style game controller). Contact me with you what have or know and I will be happy to respond.

#What began as a discussion and a request for help is now being written into a guide. If you have additional suggestions or comments please continue to post them on this thread and I will attempt to keep this current.

Without a long explanation into the various apt-get commands I am going to generalize some functions and how they may affect those of us with less than ideal network connections, ie. 3G network cards, dial-up, limited download plans, etc.

Quote

sudo apt-get update

You will see reference to this all over the wiki and forums. This command is used to check your currently installed package versions against what is available from your list of repositories in the sources file. Think of this command as a way to verify you have the latest (and hopefully) the greatest LinuxMCE features running on your machine. This step is critical for future steps in the updating process. If your machine does not know what it needs to fetch it can't very well fetch it.

Quote

sudo apt-get upgrade

If you are reading this thread as a guide than this is more than likely the problem you are having. After a successful update fetch, your system now has a list of packages that it needs to go out to your repositories and download. The process by which it does this however may be causing you problems if there is a considerable amount of material to download. A apt-get upgrade command needs to download EVERY package before it will process and install them on your system. If at any point during your download your connection to the internet fails the entire process is abandoned and no upgrade occurs. There is a way around this and while not as quick and easy as using upgrade, it will update your system and gives you a verification step to know you have the latest (and hopefully) the greatest.

Open KDE desktop sessionOpen a terminal session

Quote

sudo apt-get updatesudo apt-get upgrade

When prompted with the package list and total download size, select "N" for no Create a new text document in ~/desktop/ name it anything you like or don't name it at allCopy the list of files to download from your terminal window into the newly created text document

Now you need to be somewhat familiar with the size of various packages before you continue. This will take some time but in general the lmce-skins and pluto-skins packages can be quite large as can anything with reference to database or mce-diskless. The majority of remaining packages are fairly lightweight and can be downloaded on even the slowest connection.

Quote

sudo apt-get install <first package in your text document>

What you have just done is instructed your machine to only upgrade one package instead of everything all at once. If the download was successful then it installed needed dependencies and upgraded your system. To continue on you may wish to do several packages at once...

To verify that you have in fact upgraded your system, once you have completed an install command you simply need to repeat the first steps of this guide.

Quote

sudo apt-get updatesudo apt-get upgrade

Select N for no, and notice that the list of packages remaining to download is now reduced or empty.

The more experience you have with various packages you may wish to skip certain upgrades and do a copy-paste-edit-copy-paste method. To do this delete large packages from the text file you pasted into. Keep package names spaced as they were. Copy the updated list of packages Go back to your terminal session

Quote

sudo apt-get install <Ctrl + v>

I hope this guide is helpful to the few of us left suffering with slower internet connections. Post a reply or drop me a message with any problems you have using the instructions above.

#Original thread content left for the time being

I watched the apt-get update / apt-get upgrade failures on my core closely and have a question for the more experienced bash users. First my understanding of what these commands do.

sudo apt-get update: sudo as I understand it is "SuperUserDO" or root permission says do this command. Apt-get update, I understand to mean check repositories listed in my sources file and see what packages are newer than mine. I further take this to mean its not looking for things I am missing, just newer versions?

sudo apt-get upgrade: go out and get the items found by doing the update command. Download everything to make them work (addition dependancies, lib files, etc). Once all are downloaded, install and apply changes.

Please let me know if the above is accurate enough for what I am asking below.

After an update/upgrade command I show that I need roughly 500MB of downloaded items. I also see a list of the packages and am given a yes/no option to begin. The process once started goes for 150-200MB fetching this and that until it gets to a large item (80MB) or so. It hangs here for a moment and then spits 30 lines or so of failed to fetch. Nothing installed or upgraded that I can tell as it never got to that point.

If the above is also correct and if dropped connection or DL stumble kills the process, is there a command such as:

apt-get upgrade <single_package_name> ?apt-get upgrade <100MB only> ?

I know I can do a sudo apt-get install <package_name> but I don't see where that checks the version like an update/upgrade would.

I realize I am showing my green here but there is a TON of things to understand if I don't have ideal hardware, Internet connection, etc or if I want to contribute and develop.

I am looking for the user manual (in .pdf preferably) for the Gyration Remote GYR3101US. The Gyration website doesn't recognize this product number and does not offer manuals for discontinued models. I am hoping to do some work on this in 10.04 under the GC1005 template it uses and get some use out of its' learning mode that I can't remember the keypress for. That aside I also want to program the AUX channel with learned commands from my fireplace's IR remote, if I get usable code from this I can offer it to the community for control via IRT, LIRC, etc.

Paypal available, as is any trade work or arrangements. Of particular interest to potential traders would be my skinning work of orbiter UIs. I can add custom components or personalization to most default skins and make them available to you as drop in replacements for skins you are not otherwise using. Backup Default skins > Replace file > full regen orbiter > enjoy new skins. Skins I am currently altering include Titanium and UIta. I personally enjoy the fat-finger changes to the DVD remote screens.

LinuxMCE 1004 Alpha :: Considered to be "bleeding edge". Give it a try if you are able to fix problems alongside the developers.

I have submitted bugs (and will continue to) where I was confident I knew that something was not operator error.

This is a general experience update about things I have found functional and working under 10.04. I will draw some comparisons to both the last stable version of 8.10 and to my second machine which is running a fairly slim Ubuntu 10.04 LTS.

For a media player on a single monitor the system at this point is the best available IMO. If nothing else below ever becomes functional I will continue to use 10.04 for a movie watching computer.

Not Working, or so limited in functionality I moved it elsewhere:

DNS - despite many attempts to correct this apache2 returns a line at startup that it cannot resolve a name. * If this doesn't cause issues for Dyn DNS or VOIP settings I won't consider it a problem*

MythTV - using the dcecommon fix recently posted I can watch TV for approximately 2 minutes before it crashes and says too many errors were encountered. Something about too many frame buffer errors. I also have to rerun the apt-get install dcecommon command each time I change a channel.

Asterisk - Under 8.10 I did not have VOIP service but I could make calls from orbiter to orbiter. Under 10.04 when trying to call a orbiter it immediately crashes. Without FreePBX I do not know the status of my SIP registration to determine the status of my connection. When I lift the receiver on my phone which connects to a networked ATA device I get a buzz sound for a few seconds and then nothing. The status under Phone Lines in the admin page simply says "reguest request" on my providers SIP line.

Motion (IP Cam) - Unworking in 10.04, motion either doesn't start, starts and fails or runs but does not report motion detected from the feed its watching. Under 8.10 I was able to get it working and have events fire off motion. I have since moved this IP cam to my Ubuntu machine where motion detection is functional.

Motion (usb cam) - Unworking in 10.04 or 8.10. I do have this working on my Ubuntu machine however.

Motion (analog cam via WinTV 150) - Unworking in 10.04 or 8.10 connected either composite or coax via a RF modulator. Currently working on my Ubuntu machine after installing ivtv-utils and VLC media player. The commands to display input is v4l2-ctl -I, to list all inputs is v4l2-ctl -n, and to select which input you want to use is v4l2-ctl -i <input number> the output remains as /dev/video0. These commands do not work under LinuxMCE unfortunately or I would add that to my device data.

Detection of Networked Resources - LMCE is currently giving out IP addresses to any equipment I put on its switch, they are all able to connect to lmce-admin page and are also able to connect via network sharing options and pull-put files into /home/<my user name>/desktop. LMCE however does not "see" these devices however and has failed to prompt about using them as file servers as it did in 8.10.

Ability to check updated sqlCVS information - Each time I run the update command with categories selected I get a pop-up window that takes a few minutes and then returns status successful. Nothing happens after this though. In 8.10 after running this command my next apt-get update would pull in updated UI files, new templates, etc.

Ability to apply apt-get update - Not currently functional.

Email out from events or even the test email from admin page - Not functional in 10.04. In 8.10 when I used the test email button I got the string of information across the top of the screen but never an actual email sent. I tried using Mailx and was not able to configure that either.

Gyration Remote - Working but unregistered in 10.04. Getting a discovered, installing software for new device, device is ready to use announcements every 5-10 minutes. Worked in 8.10 without adjustment though I do not recall if it registered.* If it's a known issue I will not list it as non-functioning. Its just annoying so will let the roommate use it*

Ability to unplug computer monitor and plug in my TV via DVI to HDMI cable - Not working without a reboot. * Fixed, I copied the output of nvidia x config tool into my /etc/x11/xorg.conf after setting it for twin view with +0+0 offset for second monitor (which is my tv) *

Ability to restart router or reboot without linuxmce being the active channel on my physical KVM switch - Not working in 10.04. Performing a quick reload router, force reload router or reboot must be done while the video channel is active on my KVM or the screen locks to 500x420 resolution and is unusable without another reboot.* I have learned to always make lmce video feed active during startup/reboots. My other PC also hates booting while non-active but between its login screen and its desktop it corrects the resolution*

KDE desktop wipe - This is an interesting one but frustrating to work with. Occasionally when I return to KDE desktop I find all my settings and favorites wiped. For example I pull the reactivate orbiter script out of desktop and add it as a panel item for ease of getting to. The desktop widget that displays desktop folder also reopens itself occasionally.

I will continue to work on these issues and hopefully add some of this functionality back to my lmce system. I love the software as a media player and have never had any problems with that. Knowing that the system is capable of doing more, owning the equipment to do more all in one place but not having it work is frustrating. Again, none of this is a complaint. I actually owe lmce a great debt as it has helped me learn volumes more about the linux structure and general coding than I knew 4 years ago. That improved knowledge and troubleshooting ability has already helped me to get various devices working on my other machines. In time I may be able to get these devices working on lmce 10.04.

I currently use a "dumb" HP UPS for my core, network and cameras. I haven't had any luck getting communication out of its serial port and from the online material I have read it may not have came installed with that comm. module.

To the point and question: For my old UPS or for any UPS not designed to communicate when it switches to battery back-up, what other methods have people used for safe shutdown timers or last minute events/log dumps?

Z-wave, Insteon and X-10 did not seem to have any this capability as I imagine most if not all of these networks fail when power is lost. 1-wire if I understand it enough from my reading the last few days could detect 0 amp draw on a line and be configured to activate an event from that (looking at energy saving devices that watch amp draw then report).

This isn't a huge concern as I have power dropped this machine from frustration more times that I candle to admit but if I can pull a power failure message from somewhere more backup options become available to me. Gasoline generators, pull power from the solar fueled cells (one of my other tinker projects) or at least time to remote in, check security feeds and power down.

Of all the pieces and parts I have added and played with in LMCE, nothing has been more stable and to me a sort of "token" of the system than my little tablet orbiter. Web Orbiter 2.0 looks amazing on my PS Vita screen, if I was a Dianemo user I would surely get the Red Line skin for my iPhone, and Qorbiter is looking pretty amazing as well for android users. The little black box that could is however looking dated I am afraid. Today on a much needed break from breaking my install I took some time to give my favorite device a makeover.

I can't seem to get Designer working on either of my main computers so decided to edit/replace/reload until I figured out where all the various pieces went. The results so far are linked below. They are pretty large images in order to see the detail in the icons so I am posting links.

The second link is the skin I am currently using and will continue to tinker with. I need to fade the blue glare marks on the icons better so they look like reflections and not spears! Nothing fancy or too elaborate on the drawings, I stayed away from patterns and texture effects this time around. The 'trick' to icon spacing if that is what you are after is realizing that the placement always seems to check center lower in the cell it belongs to. As long as the image file is the correct dimension you can have as much of it transparent as you wish. Temped to put some non-public items on the 'more' page using 100% transparent icons...

If anyone is interested in these screens for their DT or anything else locked into 800x600 send me a message and I am sure we can work out a transfer method and a trade (I am always needing remote assistance and setup help lol). I also would be willing to personalize a skin as I did mine, all the icons are components I currently run:

Lights Icon: Standard compact florescentMedia Icon: LG 60" TV (getting the UI placed onto that stock photo was fun!)Climate Icon: Not part of my system but a little more modern than a thermometerComm. Icon: Cisco 7970 (again with the UI overlayed on a stock photo)Security Icon: LynxTouch (just ordered mine, will break my install a few times getting that going)Phones Icon: my iPhone

**Edit, the security mode icons were changed as well, I noticed most skins use the default ones. At-home-secure = a cup of coffee, Do-Not-Disturb = a Do Not Disturb sign, Armed = a more detailed house with locks and chains. The rest of the modes I will update when I get ideas.

I admit that I don't have a clue what that means but thought I would share it and see if its something that should be looked at. I do not have any issues with the system at the moment but this error may be in a module I do not typically use?

Well not exactly new, apparently PhonePower bought Broadvoice (since 8.10 anyways) and is doing some pretty alluring packages depending on your call needs. I went with the unlimited in-state + local 911 and will just use my cell provider for out of state calls. If you are interested in checking out VOIP and give this company a call make sure to explain you intend to activate and get access to your SIP credentials. This will place you on their "Aquarius Network" apparently if you do not specify it can be an ordeal to move networks in their system later...

Yes Rule #3 (up above) exists but I am posting the following for anyone so inclined to create a config profile for them in Broadvoice's place.

User name in setup is NOT your account name, it is definitely your phone number.This provider does not resolve IP differences if you are not correctly port forwarded through any external firewall or if you're on a dynamic IPMethod of activation. When you receive your device (that is if you don't have your own, I took it for the free ATA and didn't mention Asterisk) be sure to activate through your external network with a direct call to them, and not through a softphone on your lmce network. After you place your first call and it configures itself you can move it to the internal network. 1004 recognized it right away and set it up under Asterisk, Budgetone 100 with 2 line outs, created as seperate child devices of the Budgetone 100.After initial activation you log into their web page with your 'website' password and username. Go to the modify services page and read their warning about not supporting any customer owned equipment etc etc. After you click accept your SIP password, domain, phone number and username (your phone number) is revealed.

I have had the service for a little over a week now, I cant comment on call clarity because I have yet to get Asterisk working under 1004.

I apologize if some of this is repeated constantly but I have been searching and cant find any information between: I-just-need-it-to-work user and developer. I would consider these middle ground how-to instructions for someone who is willing to contribute and needs some direction.

Templates:

Is there a way to copy a template when creating a new device without altering the original? I often times need to adjust a few properties only (such as advanced IP camera) when setting up a non-recognized or improperly recognized device. Currently I am pen-and-paper writing down all the command groups etc. Though I am learning a lot about "how" these things work in doing it this way it is killing my productivity.

Sharing Templates, Device Data, etc. via sqlCVS?:

So I created a new device for my D-Link 930L (wired or wireless IP cam). I could use generic, advanced or tweak the existing D-Link cameras but I like things to be clean so I wanted my duck to be called a duck. In development, is the LMCE direction to catalog and create device data for each piece or to come up with fewer generic device schemes that cover groups of equipment?

In my sqlCVS area of the web-admin page I see where I can pull in using the no-pass account which is pre-populated. How do I go about uploading anything I create for review and possible inclusion?

Designer:

It's very clear that as the UI goes that the old program is no longer used and effort is going into new schemes and methods. What I am hunting for information on though is screen and object relationships. When setting up a new device such as a camera and I am asked the PK_Object or PK_Screen # and have to tab out to find another device that uses it and hope I am correct. I tried going into /usr/pluto/orbiter but the file names do not contain such numbers. Is there a list of screens with numbers I am overlooking?

Bug Reporting:

I think something is a bug, I reload several times, I search wiki/forums/google and try to get it going on my own. I could have screwed something up or it could be buggy. Nobody else seems to be complaining about it on wiki/forums/google. Would LMCE prefer rejecting tickets as user screw-up or not getting a ticket at all?

- Just a few questions I wanted to get posted before I tackle getting one IP cam, one A/V input and two streaming feeds into the Quad-Cam view.

I am trying to PXE boot a severely stripped down PC and am getting a lot of errors on the MD side. I have searched the forums, the wiki and generic ubuntu forums but have not come up with good answers. Below is my setup, if you have experienced similar please help point me in the right direction.

MSI K7N2 Delta boardAMD Athlon XP 3000NVIDIA nForce2 chipsetATI Radeon AGP 8x (sorry cant remember the series offhand)PowerSupply and RAMNo floppy, no HDD, no DVD, no PCI cards Reviewing the manual I assured no jumpers were out of wackBoot option set to USB, PXE, other boot disabled

My network works fine and I can see this MD make the connection. The various errors I get are all from the MD to the MD and revolve around the cpu locking up.

BUG: soft lockup - CPU#0 stuck for 61s! [plymouthd:348]

I dug around and found the recommendation to re-seat and verify all my hardware (ram etc) was in place. I did that and continued to see this error. Additionally I saw mention of MTU being set to 1500 in the scrolling. I read an article on the wiki about changing the mtu setting but I am not thinking that is the issue.

I then went to the web-admin on the core and rebuilt the image for this MD, thinking I might have not let it complete. After a quick reload router I fired the MD again and had this error. Much much reading later I found some reference to APIC=off and IRQ "static" causing processors to lock.

In this boards bios are settings to disable IRQs, assign priority, turn off apic, and lots of things that I just cant grasp after one day of reading. I do have the manual however and if someone could share some global settings on MDs that tend to work I would really appreciate it. I would also appreciate if anyone just say "Guy, that board is ####, find another MD project."

About 4 years ago I had a nice small lmce install going at my place in Arizona. Since then I have had to relocate and ended up in living situations where I couldn't set up properly.

I am now living in Michigan and able to run cables and with the help of my roommate develop some neat little toys for home automation. I have been wracking my brain and body the last week trying to get a few components going. I have been through every wiki, searched all forum pages I could find and have put the effort into trying to write my own templates. If another user who is fond of challenges can simply point me in a few new directions I would be more than grateful. Without running down my entire log entries or build I will jump right to my biggest issues. With these resolved I will be happy saying the system is running, and I can devote more time to developing new add-ons.

Core/Hybrid: stable, using latest 8.10. ( Only issues with reps was some language packs )This machine was built 4 years ago with a complete 'compatible parts' list.

Issue #1. Analog Camera ( composite outputs, one audio one video ) connected to WinTV-150. No matter how I try to device pipe or motion wrap this I can not get the feed from the /dev/video0 to generate on my orbiters or admin site. I did find one user post that said his composite port inputs worked when he told the media director wizard that it was Dish Network>Satellite Box>XXXX. Using this trick I was able to cat /dev/video0 > video0.mpeg and view my feed. I can also view the feed on the media director but not as a camera and not with motion detection.

- The ability to watch television is not important at all for my household. I have decided it will be easier to buy a DVB capture card for that purpose down the road and only use the WinTV-150 for camera feeds.

- I have several D-Link 930L motion IP cameras set up as Generic Motion IP camera under Motion as well. On the template for motion wrapper, it lists 1,8 for capture type ( card or USB) Is it possible to have two motion wrappers on my system? Has anyone found a way to force motion wrapper into taking both type of inputs?

My clonezilla disk is wearing thin with all the re-imaging I am doing after breaking my set-up experimenting!

I am happy to report I now have my core up and running beta2. Thanks to tkmedia for the assistance and for putting up with my "what's an irc? is it apt-get or wget?" type questions. Here is a run down of what I needed to do in order to correct some problems I had with DVD install.

Downloaded Kubuntu 8.10 i386burned it to a cdinstalled it on SCSI3 ( sda)I used 'guided - use entire diskgot to desktop and opened a terminal

First problem:inserting a DVD gave me an error message about missing DVDCSS library

alt+ctrl+f2opened a terminal

sudo apt-get dvdcss2

reboot

Solved

Next issue:

Trying to get to kde desktop gave me a "could not start ksmserver" error

I found a link to work around this and get what sounds like a stripped down desktop environment but I was unable to get it working before I had to head to bed. I will post my command and success when I get home tonight.

Install any working version of LinuxMCE onto my core computer.Provide a means of backup so I can restore the core at any time to the way you left it.

The Details:

I live in Mesa Arizona and would of course prefer to deal with someone local to avoid shipping costs.I provide my core otherwise and all shipping to your doorstep. Compensation will be generous and established ahead of time via messages. Basically name your price and I will agree based on your post count if your able to complete the job.

I have been trolling the forums and the wiki for some time now while shopping around and preparing to set up my system. I wanted to introduce myself to the community and to thank everyone for the information I have already come across.

I am 31 and I stumbled onto LinuxMCE doing some Google searches for easier ways to manage my media. I have toyed with different Linux distros over the years but still rely on a lot of reading every time I tackle something new. For now while I am still working on getting a solid core up and running I find myself in the user_setup section of the wiki copy-pasting hardware into my own build list. Hopefully once my basics are up and running I will be able to contribute and test out some hardware of my own to try and help other people like I have been helped.

My System (half in boxes, half plans)

Since I am remodeling my house anyways right now I decided to run 1.25" schedule 40 pvc under my crawlspace and up into the walls of the rooms I plan to have MDs or other wired devices. I live in a single story building so this is a pretty simple task. I am taking photos of this process and can link them after its finished.

Lowe's carries some and has access to products from OnQ who I will be finishing my wiring with. I don't know if they have been mentioned here on the forums but it's priced reasonable and they make some slick items for clean installations like plug covers and mini-service panels to mount patch panels and other connections inside walls.green = have it now, black is planned

Core / Hybrid ?Black 4U ATX caseMSI p45 Neo3-FR moboCore 2 ?? (watching prices currently, I may go duo and later move up to quad)2g RAM **EDIT_00 below**HDD ?? (I need to weigh the benefits of having my media stored here verses on NAS)**Edit_01 below**Tuner Card(s) ?? (after I have my core and first MD up I will add this along with Satellite HD service)Video Card ?? (probably cheapo as this will basically be headless, it will KVM to a monitor on my desk normally running games off a windows box)Secondary External Network Windows PC ( KVM share with core )Black 4U ATX Case in a custom cabinet with corePrimary External Network Windows PCVertical Desktop Tower ASDL Modem + Router Combo (provided by ISP, wireless G only and 10/100 ports)NetGear RangeMax WNR3500 (with gigabit wired ports, this will have dhcp turned off and act as my switch to begin with)?? Port 10/100/1000 Rackmount switch

WebDT 366 (didnt get the charging base so will make one to semipermanently install in the Living Room as primary remote control of that MD)iPhone 3G (web orbiter control and point of contact for future IP cameras)Fiire Chief / 3 button gyro remote ( would love to find fiire but any working gyro remote to run my bedroom MD )

HP R1500 XR UPS (rackmounted under my core, it will be backing up the external network for sure and the core if it can handle the VA)Nucool 1.7 cu. ft. Compact Fridge Black (17 inches wide so will install in my rack on the very bottom, this will chill the resivour for my liquid cooling and store beer)

Living Room MD (first MD project)- No hardware decided yet, only a list of what I want to do with it -Bedroom MD (will not see alot of use, would settle for standard def video setup here and may go with a pre-configured box hidden out of site)

Future Plans-Cisco 7970 (for my office so I can use it as an orbiter while gaming on both windows PC without hitting the KVM) Multi-zone audio controlable with iphone web orbiter in the backyardz-wave?/IP? controlable thermostatIP cameras and sensors to replace an archaic security systemRemote Lights in at least the living roomRemote Window Treatments in the living room and bedroom

Voice Recognition and Control, everything I have read says forget it. If I get serious about adding this I may have to run it through my windows (external) network. If I can't make it work with LinuxMCE I hope to at least find a way to 'share' control of some of these devices with windows equipment.

If you took the time to read through all of that thanks and I will be more concise and specific in future posts. Nice to meet everyone and hope to see everyone here as often as I am able.

EDIT_00 Some good info on the forums about this, 2gig seems to be plenty, I will save the $ and put it elsewhereEDIT_01 I will be putting my media on a ubuntu9.10 based NAS. http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=6798.0 answered my question about the path of media on the network. If I understand this correctly the only task the core would play here would be dhcp traffic cop and would not have to compress/compile/send the media itself.